Lightroom 1.1 released

Just four months after the release of Lightroom 1.0, Adobe have released an update that is free to registered Lightroom owners.

Changes in the DEVELOP module
Overall, the tools in 1.1 bring the Develop Module closer to the tools that were introduced recently in Camera Raw 4.1, which is the RAW converter in Adobe Photoshop CS3. So the two programs are drawing closer together in terms of the tools to develop images.

For example, there are now the same extra sliders in the sharpening tool in the Develop module as were introduced in the improved sharpening tool in Camera RAW 4.1 in Photoshop CS3. As I have already commented in an earlier post, that tool is extemely good, and with it, it is easy to supress halo effects and choose the areas that one wants to sharpen.

And as with Camera Raw 4.1, the effect of each slider can be viewed independently in black and white, by using the ALT key (and whatever the equivalent is for PC users).

There is a standard default setting for RAW files that introduces some sharpening, which can of course be left as it is or altered with the sliders. It is worth noting though that the default sharpening for any format that has already been developed (jpgs, PSDs, TIFs. etc.) is zero because of course these have already been developed.

There is also an additional Clarity slider added above the Vibrance and Saturation tools. It increases the contrast as the micro level making the image look more punchy but it does need to be used delicately or it will make the image look over contrasty.

The Luminance noise reduction tool is said to have been improved ‘behind the scenes’ as it were with new algorithms. Having upgraded from 1.0 I can’t tell whether it is improved as I have no comparison other than my memory.

And there is also a defringe tool in the Lens Correction tool – again as with Camera Raw 4.1.

Changes in the LIBRARY module
There is now ability to export original RAW files, which is in effect a ‘copy’ facility for original files.

For managing files there is a change in terminology from 1.0, as Libraries and Library Databases are now called Catalogues. This does not affect the Library module, which continues to be called that.

It is worth taking a step back and looking at what catalogues are. They are databases that keep track of where files are and the information in them.

With Lightroom, one can see previews and data even if the original image is not accessible – as for example it is stored on a CD or on an external hard drive that does not happen to be connected to the computer.

By way of contrast, in Adobe Bridge the images must be accessible so that Bridge can browse them.

in Lightroom, if the image is accessible but the user has moved it somewhere else (for example somewhere else on the hard drive), Lightroom will try to find a new path to it, and if it finds it then one can make any alterations one wants in the Devleop module. Otherwise, one can look but not change the image because Lightroom cannot locate it.